"Clean" meat
"Clean" meat, also known as lab-grown or cultured meat, is a food product created by cultivating animal cells in a laboratory setting, eliminating the need for animal slaughter. It is produced by extracting stem cells from animals, such as cows and chickens, and growing muscle tissue in a lab environment. This innovative approach aims to address animal welfare concerns, as no animals are killed during production, although animal products are still involved in the cultivation process, making it unsuitable for vegetarians and vegans.
The development of clean meat has gained traction since the first lab-grown hamburger was unveiled in 2013, with several companies making strides toward potential mass production. Supporters highlight its sustainability benefits, which could significantly reduce land and water use, as well as greenhouse gas emissions associated with traditional meat farming. However, challenges remain, including public skepticism about safety and taste, as well as the high costs of production, which were notably steep in the early stages.
While some research suggests that clean meat could be healthier than conventional meat—potentially lowering risks associated with bacteria, antibiotics, and certain fats—long-term health effects are still unknown. Overall, clean meat represents a promising yet complex evolution in food technology, aiming to meet growing meat consumption demands while addressing ethical and environmental concerns.
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"Clean" meat
"Clean" meat, also known as lab-grown meat, cultured meat, in vitro meat, test-tube meat, and synthetic meat, is a type of manufactured food product. Animals are not slaughtered for clean meat; it is cultivated from the cells, blood, and fetal serum of animals in laboratories. The US approved the sale of clean meat for the first time in June 2023. Supporters of clean meat tout its sustainability, while critics question its safety.
Background
Clean meat is made by extracting stem cells from animals such as cows and chickens and fetal serum from unborn calves and chicks. Some companies also use a serum made from sugar, amino acids, and animal blood. The cells and serum are then cultivated in a lab to grow muscle tissue, which eventually is used to make the meat. This muscle tissue has to be stimulated, or it will die. Scientists use electrical impulses to exercise the muscle tissue to keep it alive. No animals are killed in the production of clean meat products, but animal products are used to make clean meat, which means it is not vegetarian or vegan.
While the idea of lab-grown meat had been around since the twentieth century, several companies began seriously working on creating lab-grown meat in the first decade of the 2000s. In 2013, Mark Post, a cardiovascular biologist from Maastricht University in the Netherlands, unveiled the first lab-grown hamburger at a conference in London, England.
The meat was made using muscle stem cells taken from a cow's shoulder and grown in calf fetus serum in a lab. The developers then assembled twenty thousand of these cells into a hamburger. They added egg and breadcrumbs to hold the cells together and beet juice and saffron for color. They then shaped the mixture into a round hamburger patty. It looked similar to regular meat, but it was a bit paler. A chef cooked the burger and served it to two people. They noted that the texture was close to real meat, and it held together well. Yet, it was not juicy and lacked fat. They both likened it to an animal protein cake.
Post agreed that the meat needed some tweaks before it could be mass-produced and sold to the public. The researchers had to overcome obstacles such as expense; the product cost $330,000. Google cofounder Sergey Brin financially backed the project. Post said that the researchers focused on ground meat because it was easier to use short fibers of tissue because of the diffusion distance of oxygen and nutrients in the tissues. He added that the researchers and his company, Mosa Meats, were working on other cuts of beef, such as steak, and meat from other animals.
In February 2016, Memphis Meats, based in San Francisco, California, debuted a lab-created meatball. The cost of the meat was $18,000 per pound. The following month, Memphis Meats released the first lab-created chicken strips made from the cells of chickens. The cost of one pound of chicken strips was $9,000. The company also announced in 2016 that it had cultivated duck. It had plans to replace animal fetus serum and animal blood in their products with plant-based products to produce animal-free meat items.
Modern Meadow, a company from New Jersey that was in the process of creating manufactured animal-free leather, announced it was working on other clean meat products such as "steak chips," a cross between beef jerky and a potato chip. However, the company eventually abandoned these plans and switched back to leather. Into the mid-2020s, companies continued to work on developing clean meat for future mass production. Still, the roll-out of clean meat developed more slowly than initial estimates.
Overview
While clean meat is available in limited markets, convincing the public that clean meat is safe to eat may be difficult. More than half of people surveyed in the early 2010s said they would not eat meat made in a lab. However, about one-third of the participants in the survey said they would be open to trying it. Over ten years later, one study performed at Purdue University found 60 percent of participants were open to trying clean meat.
An important factor for producing lab-created meat is animal welfare. Many animals raised for meat endure terrible conditions. They are kept in dark, cramped spaces and force-fed antibiotics and hormones until they are slaughtered.
Meat consumption continues to rise each year, and proponents of clean meat promote its sustainability to alleviate environmental and health issues caused by meat consumption. Studies have shown that lab-created meat would reduce land use and water use by more than 90 percent. In addition, laboratories would cause less pollution and emit fewer greenhouse gases than farms raising cows, pigs, and fowl. However, electricity and heat use would increase with labs.
Other issues include safety concerns and health benefits of clean meat—some of which remain unknown. Some researchers claim that clean meat is healthier because it is produced in sterile labs. This cuts down on the risk of bacteria, which can cause serious and even fatal food-related illnesses. Clean meat is also produced without the introduction of antibiotics (a practice that has divided scientists) and growth-promoting hormones (like the Bovine growth hormone), which are found in many food-producing animals to help them grow quicker and fight disease.
Clean meat is also free of heme iron, which has been linked to colon cancer and breast cancer. In addition, the amount of saturated fat, which is known to raise bad cholesterol and increase the risk of developing heart disease, is much lower in clean meat than in regular meat. Some companies are researching how to make clean meat with omega-3 fatty acids, which are healthier than fats. However, if too much fat is removed, the meat will be dry and have an odd texture. In addition, too much omega-3 fatty acids may give the clean meat an unappealing fishy flavor.
Companies may have a hard time eliminating preservatives such as nitrates and nitrites in clean meat. These are used in processed meats, including hot dogs, ham, and sausages, to help them retain an appealing color and prevent them from going rancid. Scientists have acknowledged they do not know the long-term health effects of consuming clean meat, and more research must be completed before any health claims can be substantiated.
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